The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect across the European Union on Friday, 25 May 2018. Designed to harmonise privacy laws across Europe, the GDPR refines the transparency rules for how companies describe their data processing. Article 8 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) contains specific requirements regarding consent for the processing of personal data of children. The general rule provides for a parental consent requirement for all youth under 16 years of age in situations where information society services are offered directly to them, and consent is the legitimation ground that is relied upon. However, Member States may choose to deviate and decide to lower the age threshold to 15, 14, or 13 years - read more on mapping of the age of consent across the EU here.

 

As a result of the GDPR, many providers of apps and platforms have made changes to their terms and conditions to comply with the new rules, both generally (for all users) and specifically for younger users. While we will be trying to reflect these changes throughout the BIK Guide to Online Services as soon as information becomes available, you are advised to check with the service provider in question to see how these changes impact in your own country. Additionally, for any services which you (or your children) are already subscribed to, you will have possibly receive an update email or notification of the changes direct from the service provider, sometimes even asking you to take further actions (such as to give parental consent for continued use in the case of minors).